I'm not quite where I hoped I'd be since my last update, but almost.
Since the horror show that was the Yankee Homecoming 10-Mile (I'll spare the details, but suffice to say I had to sprint in to make it in slightly under 12 minutes slower than last year), I've had two weeks of 35ish miles, plus a couple hikes in the Adirondacks last week.
I made a vow after Newburyport to just get out for three miles a day, every day, and that has quickly turned into 5 or more miles most days.
I ran a low-key 5k at the campground we were staying at on Friday and cared a lot about winning. There were about 10 entries and 4 of them were under 10 years old. My main competition was my brother in law Andrew who has been averaging 10-15 miles per week for the last year or so. The course consisted of two loops on the dusty camp road and some single-track trails behind the campground. I came through loop one in 8:27 (measured just under 1.5 on the Garmin). The second lap I slowed a little, but was pleased with a 17:09 (for 2.94 miles). My brother in law was second in 18:20 and Heather was third in 19:19. In spite of it being a very out of the way race I came away feeling a lot better about my future as a runner.
The past four days have consisted of:
a seven mile road run on Sunday afternoon with a last mile in the 5:40's;
10-plus miles in metro-Worcester on Monday near the Wachusett Reservoir after PT at Central Mass (my longest run since...April 9th);
a Strava segment-chasing extravaganza with Scott McGrath yesterday in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover;
9.1 at 6:46 pace on the roads from Gordon today.
One of the major factors in my recent resurgence has to be that my future is a bit more secure: with some changes happening at the college, I've taken the opportunity to get back into carpentry. The peace that's come with that decision has certainly helped me sleep better, drink less beer and generally recover from hard efforts with less difficulty.
With my 39th birthday on the horizon, I'm feeling grateful to have come through this most recent training funk, and look forward to making some noise, God-willing, on the roads, trails and mountains again!
